Miranda is an American short story, which was published in 1988. It points up the conflicts that might arise when a young girl finds out that she is pregnant.

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Introduction

Miranda "Miranda" is an American short story, which was published in 1988. It points up the conflicts that might arise when a young girl finds out that she is pregnant. In addition to the obligatory section B, I will in my essay incorporate a short analysis of the text. The main character's name is "Miranda" as the title of the story. Miranda is an 18 year old girl who, in the beginning of the story, lives at home by her parents in Los Angeles, California. The story starts the day before she leaves for College in Boston. As the story progresses Miranda's feelings are changing. In the beginning of the story she seems like a well-balanced girl. She has everything: freedom, a great boyfriend and understanding parents. She seems like any other teenage girl. But as she finds out she is pregnant, she is slowly changing. She gets more and more sceptical towards her surroundings and the whole thing with the pregnancy is not easy for her either. She also becomes more serious and melancholic, because she learns more about life; about what is consists of. ...read more.

Middle

As a true product of their environment, they strongly advise Miranda to get an abortion. Miranda's parents do not want a daughter who does not study and therefore cannot get an education. As her mother says, she will end up as a dumb little house-wife. (p. 5, l. 147) They want her to have an abortion, so she does not end up in misery. That is not only best for her and Michael, but also for the unborn child. Miranda is mortified at the thought of killing her child. She does not care about the hardships - she is willing to accept the responsibility of the child and raise it. When her parents realise that they are not reaching Miranda, they turn to Michael in an effort to influence him. Michael is young and at school, just the same as Miranda, and although he loves her and accepts the responsibility of the child, he is thinking of his future as well as. When he first heard the news, he soon talked about marriage, because he felt that it was the right thing to do. ...read more.

Conclusion

The decision to have an abortion or not is a very complicated, because it brings up intense feelings and moral questions, and this often place people in difficult situations. Miranda is an example of a girl who has a lot of thoughts after becoming pregnant. She truly wants to have the baby, but ends up giving in to the fight with her parents. Miranda falls under the traditional values of what is "the right thing to do," but at the same time she abandons her chance for happiness. That leads us to another theme in the story: Society's view on success and happiness. Today, the ultimate idea of success is to please ourselves first, get that major degree and job - then plan a family and a future. Miranda sees it all more simply; she has a baby, she is willing to take responsibility, and plans her future along a different path than society wants for her. Every so often you have to listen to your heart, in order to make yourself happy. Maybe that means going against everyone you know and all you've been taught, but sometimes, that is the only way to be happy. ?? ?? ?? ?? Hanieh Meteran 1.z English Essay d. 31.10.2006 Greve Gymnasium 1 ...read more.

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